Shelton makes a recovery to book Paris final

Ben Shelton came from a set down for for the second time this week on Saturday, overhauling Frenchman Luca van Assche 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 a the Paris Masters to book his sixth final of the season.

The US third seed had to work his way out of trouble against an inspired local underdog, who had the full support of fans in the capital.

Shelton, winner of four titles this season – including a repeat of the Canadian Masters title of a year earlier – will play Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final after he beat Casper Ruud

The 47th-ranked Van Assche snuck out the opening  set with a late break of serve but fell behind a break in the second as Shelton eventually levelled.

In the third, the Frenchman earned a 3-1 lead but nerves kicked in as he lost his own serve a game later. Shelton broke again for 4-3 on his way to victory after two and a quarter hours on a second match point, a winner down the line.

“I found  my rhythm in the second set and tried to cut down on errors,”
 the winner said after advancing to the Sunday final with 25 winners and 27 unforced errors – 17 of them in the opening set. 

“I got better and better as the match went on. It’s tough out here. You can see the finish line but it’s not always easy to close it out.

“I keep looking for some little crack and chance where I can execute I need to stay brave until there is a window.

.”Being competitive is one of the best parts of my game, it keeps me in matches.”

Main photo:- Ben Shelton makes his entrance before beating Luca van AAsche – by ISF Ltd